Husband, wife bound over in Midland County armed robbery case

Published 8:15 am, Wednesday, October 16, 2013

The motive for the armed robbery of a county convenience store in August was money for drugs, according to testimony at a hearing in the case Monday.

Husband and wife Michael Scott Brothers and Jessica Leigh Brothers, both 27 and of Midland County, face charges of armed robbery and conspiracy to commit armed robbery. Michael Brothers appeared in court Monday afternoon before Midland County Circuit Court Judge Stephen P. Carras for a preliminary examination. The case against Jessica Brothers was bound over to the circuit court Friday.

On Monday, Midland County Assistant Prosecutor Gerald Ladwig called two witnesses — the clerk who was working during the Aug. 4 robbery at Mike’s Country Grocery, 2005 E. Gordonville Road, and Midland County Sheriff’s Detective Brent Benzing.

The clerk testified he was working alone that day, and was in another part of the store making a pizza when he heard the bell at the door, signifying a customer had entered. When he came to the front of the store, he saw something unusual.

“There was a person there with a gun,” the clerk said, adding it was a small black handgun. “The only thing he said was ‘get the money.’”

The clerk got the money from both of the store’s registers and handed it to the masked robber.

“I did it because I didn’t want anything to happen,” the clerk testified.

Attorney Dan Duke of Midland, who was appointed to represent Michael Brothers, asked the clerk if he could identify the robber and if the robber ever pointed the gun at him. The clerk said the robber was just over 6 feet tall with a regular build, and wore a Halloween mask with large eyebrows and a mustache. He indicated the gun was held at waist level and was pointed at him.

Benzing said the arrests were made after the sheriff’s office received a tip regarding the robbery in September and that he interviewed Michael Brothers after the arrest.

“His wife had a drug dependency issue,” the detective testified regarding his interview of Brothers, adding the couple was at a friend’s home when the topic of addiction entered the conversation as a joke. That’s when the decision to rob the store was made.

Benzing said Michael Brothers told him that Jessica drove him in her car, dropped him off and that he entered the store to complete the robbery. After he obtained money from both registers, he left the store, ran through a cornfield and met up with his wife.

Duke asked Benzing about the gun that was recovered when the couple was arrested. Benzing testified the gun officials believe was used during the robbery was a BB gun, and that a second BB gun also was recovered.

At the hearing’s conclusion, Carras found there was probable cause to believe a crime had been committed and that Brothers committed it, and bound over the case. Brothers stood mute during his circuit court arraignment.

Jessica Brothers waived the preliminary hearing in her case on Friday, and Carras bound over the case. Court records show her appointed attorney, Lee Burton of Midland, will be filing a motion for a Cobbs plea.

During a Cobbs hearing, which is not open to the public, the judge uses the information at hand to inform the defendant of the likely sentence in a case, and the defendant can then use that information in deciding whether to enter a plea. The defendant can withdraw the plea if the judge does not deliver the expected sentence.

The next step in Michael Brothers’ case is a pretrial conference.

Armed robbery is punishable by up to life in prison. Conspiracy to commit an illegal act is a felony punishable by up to five years in prison.